


Crossroads Spirit

by IlloustriousTaco



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azulon is a Bastard, Exile Iroh, Family, Family Issues, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ozai is a bastard, Written by an Evil Author, Zuko becomes the blue spirit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 11:02:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14953446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IlloustriousTaco/pseuds/IlloustriousTaco
Summary: Zuko didn't throw sparks until he was nine, long after Ozai had given up and started training his little sister as his heir. Iroh failed the siege of Ba Sing Se and earned Azulon's disfavor, and with no surviving son, and a refusal to marry again, the succession of the Fire Throne must go to the living line.Neither Azulon or Ozai approve of clumsy, weak Zuko when skilled strong Azula is before their eyes.This is a re-write of Firey Spirit.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> For years I've tried to continue Fiery Spirit, and for years couldn't push on. There has been a lot going on in my life, things have changed, oh gracious things have changed, but this story is still on my mind. 
> 
> So I'm trying again, starting over from scratch. It's the same story but vastly changed as well, with well mapped out plot points in advance.

He lay in a heap, curled around himself and huddled under the coarse blanket that he had been given. No silks or soft linens, not for blankets, and no sheets between him and the rough material of the cot he had been left on. His soft sleep shirt had been stripped off of him hours, or perhaps days ago, leaving him in only the soft shorts worn under the sleeping shirt for modesty. 

He wore no shoes or socks to defend his tender feet from the rough wood floor, though he didn’t have much strength to stand and had even less desire to. The walls and low ceiling were all of the same dark, rough wood, and even thinking of getting up made his stomach want to rebel though there was nothing more than a little bit of water in it. 

Under the rough linens, he burned and froze both in turn and together. There had been someone, a long time ago, or maybe only hours ago, who had brought him cold water for his parched throat and laid a cool cloth on his burning head. The unfamiliar face hadn’t stayed long, making sure he drank before quickly leaving. It had hurt to drink, but the fire in his throat had hurt more and he had guzzled at the water greedily. 

The pain had been constant for so long now that it was becoming quite easy to think, in between bouts of feeling like he was frozen or about to catch fire. His entire head hurt, but the entire left half of his face hurt more than any of the rest of his body. 

He focused on the little discomforts of the rest of his body, trying to ignore the memory of fire and hate and the knowledge of whose handprint was now seared into his flesh. 

“The brat’s awake,” the voice was soft, coming from somewhere that might be the doorway, and he turned his head to watch a large blurry figure in red approach him. The room rolled alarmingly as he tried to shift away from large hands reaching for him, and then rolled yet more, his head and stomach both quite unhappy about it when he was lifted up. When the cocoon of rough blanket fell away the air felt bitingly cold on his hot skin, but the rough hands didn’t care, carrying him away from the cot that had become his world lately. 

If there had been anything in his stomach, it would have ended up all over the tall man carrying him now. 

“No more coddling the brat, we’re at the agreed upon place,” the man carrying him said, and the world lurched as he started moving. 

The boy trembled, looking up into a blurred face. 

“Please…” he managed to rasp out through cracked dry lips, thinking longingly of his mother and her warm comfort whenever things went wrong. His face ached, and it hurt to plead, but he had to try because there was nothing else. “Please… I want to go home..” he managed, not even recognizing his own rough voice. 

The man ignored him, and there was more movement, and then stairs and the freezing blast of air that tasted of nothing but salt and sea life. The world rocked around him even more as he was set to his feet against some kind of wooden railing and it took him a moment to realize that he was looking out at a lonely stretch of sea. The cold black water caught the light of the moon far below, showing choppy waves, and the freezing wind blew right through him, cutting like knives into the searing heat of fever for a blissful moment before his exposed skin started to feel like thousands of tiny needles made of ice were biting into him. 

Reflex had him grasping at the edge of the wall as the hands supporting him let go, but there was no way he was going to be able to stay on his feet long, and when he looked away from the furious sea he saw why he had been let go. 

He recognized the ornate knife in the man's hand and looked up even as a stubborn hate washed outwards, denying the ice needles for just a little while. 

“Why?” he managed to croak, staring for all he was worth at the man. 

“Shut up,” the man growled, and the knife raised high, glinting in the moonlight for a brief moment of hesitation before striking down. 

The boy lifted his arm to fend it off, throwing himself to the side as well, but not well enough, and he screamed, pushing backward and over the side of the ship even as the blade pulled free from where it had cut down into him. 

Everything burned, and then there was cold darkness dragging at him as he hit the unforgiving water.

* * *

“Should we fish him out, sir?” 

“No. With that wound, the lion-sharks will be on him soon enough if the water does not…” 

“I don’t like this sir. He’s just a damn kid.” 

“Stow that talk sailor and tell night watch they can come back up.”

* * *

Seabirds circled far above, faint white shapes against gray clouds while the sun's face hidden behind angry clouds. 

It was all so far away though, in another world for all that it mattered. The cold had numbed everything and even painful shells and rocks hidden in forgiving sand felt far away and somewhere else. 

Even the biting wind from the north, laden with the chill of endless glaciers and ice didn’t feel immediate enough to worry about. 

Despite the raucous calls of the seabirds, it all felt calm and there was a curious dissonance between icy wind and jagged sand and the pale golden eyes staring upward into the sky. The cold was steeped too deep to really even feel anymore, and the bitter tang of salt covered the copper stench of fresh blood. 

The scavengers were already gathering though, distantly he could feel them and it almost sounded like words in the distance, like there were people shouting.


	2. Zuzu

The easiest way to distract the little ones, Zuzu had discovered, was to set them to some kind of task and make it feel like a game. Since he frequently was the one chosen to watch the little ones during the day, Zuzu had learned all the tricks of keeping them distracted. Camp chores became games, which not only amused the little ones and was a way to have fun but made parents and other adults smile gratefully as Zuzu paraded his tiny troupe around gathering trash and setting small messes to rights. 

“Good job troops! Now to sacrifice our findings to the pit of brightness!” Zuzu called out, making little ones laugh as they carried their small gatherings of trash towards the cleaning area. 

Nia Lou, one of the older girls in the troupe who generally looked over Zuzu’s shoulder while he was on babysitting duty, was there washing morning meal dishes when Zuzu’s little group arrived with trash for the fire pit. 

“Nia! More fuel for the fire pit!” Zuzu called out, hanging well back as the kids deposited their gains in the bin just for that purpose near the portable stove the camp used. 

Nia gave everyone a smile as they came up, watching to make sure none of the little ones burned themselves. “Thank you all so much. Now, if you hurry I think Tae set aside some treats for good little camp helpers.” 

The kids ran off in a flurry of giggling and shouting and Zuzu set to start following them before Nia grabbed his arm. 

“Not you, Grandmother was looking for you a little bit ago and Tae is going to take over watching the little ones,” she explained, and Zuzu groaned, slumping even as he glanced up at the sky to see where the sun was. 

“But it’s still early enough to catch glow-fish in the stream and I wanted to play with Lee,” he whined, trying his hardest to inject the same whiny note he had heard his brother use so often. 

“No buts, it is still early and the stinky fish will still be there later. Grandmother, however, will be rather upset if you don’t go see her,” Nia stated firmly, and Zuzu groaned again. 

“Yea yea, whatever,” he muttered, though he dutifully turned towards the main camp, scuffing his feet artfully in the sand. Not far away, just on the other side of a small strand of trees and some high dunes, the distant sound of the ocean had him on edge, but he ignored it resolutely as he trekked towards the center of the camp, looking for Grandmother’s green and pink tent. 

He wasn't actually related to Grandmother, unlike more than half of the camp, but she was the oldest person in the troupe and doubled as group healer and troupe manager along with her son the prop-master. They had taken him in three years ago when he had washed up on shore, and he had traveled with them ever since, coming to view them as family. 

It wasn’t much to look at, but Grandmother’s tent was the largest one the troupe set up regularly that wasn’t for performing in, at least not anymore. They had larger tents for games and smaller sideshows, and the canvas and poles they put out when the stage wagon was folded out to keep the sun off of both the actors and the customers who came to see the shows. 

They were in between towns at the moment though, on their way to Taki pass and eventually Omashu. 

Grandmother was waiting for him when he quietly let himself into the tent, a tall and sturdily built matron of an Earth Kingdom woman whose hair had gone completely white years before Zuzu came into her life, and piercing green eyes that watched everyone and everything with a quiet intensity that Zuzu found comforting. 

“Zuzu, it’s good to see you. Help an old woman up and we’ll get to work,” she stated smiling kindly and Zuzu moved to obey even as he frowned 

“Honored Grandmother, what are we getting to work on?” he asked politely, only a little worried when a smile blossomed over her face, clearly telegraphing her amusement. 

Zusu flushed with embarrassment but didn’t pull away He could be as crass as any of the young men in the troupe and she knew it, but when he didn’t feel the need to blend in he defaulted to a warm politeness that always made the troupe elders smile. 

“We’re going to get working on getting you ready to play the part of the Crossroad Spirit in Love Among the Dragons.” 

Zuzu stumbled and would have bolted if Grandmother hadn’t tightened her grip and started dragging him towards the prop tent He swallowed, his throat dry as fire flakes. 

“Honored Grandmother,” he started before she cut him off, her grip sill like an iron clamp on his arm.

“Oh don’t be that way you'll like the part! Fencing, fighting, and it’s not a speaking role so you get to be all mysterious and inscrutable. The girls really dig that, and no use complaining about the mask, you’re the only one who can match Lee sparing who doesn’t already have a part.” 

Zuzu relaxed slightly at the mention of a mask Immediately feeling better. The rest of the troupe didn’t care, but the townie kids could be very cruel about the scar that covered the left side of his face, from the middle of his cheek to the temple. Still, he really didn’t want to go on stage It was one thing to juggle and help out backstage, but being where people could see him felt dangerous and he could already feel his nerves fraying. 

“Honored Grandmother, with all due respect…” 

“Bah, stow the respect Zuzu, you’ll need to, to get in character,” Lu Shan said as Grandmother dragged him into the prop tent. “Fire nation patrols have stepped up and accordingly so have the Army’s patrols. If we’re going to get through the Taki pass checkpoint, you’ll need a better disguise."

Zuzu flinched at the prop master’s bluntness but didn’t back down as he stared into Lu Shan’s dark green eyes. 

Lu Shan didn’t flinch, looking back into the pale gold eyes that marked Zuzu as fire nation to anyone who cared to look close enough. Even though Zuzu was barely thirteen years old, and looked younger compared to most earth kingdom kids because of his slight build, there was no doubt what the Army patrols would do to him if they realized he was from the enemy country. 

Bitterness welled up in his heart as hatred flared hot in his chest. 

“Chikuso… I’m not… I hate those… I hate them as much as anyone,” Zuzu caught himself before he used the stronger language he wanted to, but the bitterness in his tone was enough to make Lu Shan flinch and Grandmother frown, the look known to cause any youngster of the troupe to slink away in shame. 

“It's not good to hate where you come from,” Grandmother stated, sighing and shaking her head sadly, but Zuzu didn’t feel like listening. 

“The point, young man, is that as long as you follow our plan, I think no one will look twice at you, not even the Army patrols,” Lu Shan stated, his face hard with disapproval. “I sent Ghan to fetch Lee since both of you are going to be in on this act.” 

Zuzu nodded, trying hard to release some of the anger instead of letting it consume him, and he flinched as he realized the lantern flame was flickering like there was a strong wind, even though the glass protected the fire from any stray breeze. Grandmother and Lu Shan waited patiently as Zuzu took deep breath after deep breath, and when he felt steady he looked back up at the prop master. 

“Grandmother… said something about a mask?” he asked, his voice shaking slightly. 

“Indeed,” Lu Shan stated cheerfully, a wide smile spreading across his face as he lifted a dusty old wooden box out of one of the prop crates. “We haven’t done this play in, oh, close to thirty years. Mother could tell you how long it’s been, and I didn’t even know these were in here until I went looking.” 

With that Lu Shan opened the box, revealing two gorgeous masks nestled into fine white packing threads of some kind, or not threads Zuzu realized as he pulled out the snarling blue mask. A wig of wild white hair nearly three feet long was attached to the mask, and Zuzu gently detangled the wig from a similar wig in black attached to the laughing red mask. 

“I thought you would be drawn to that one,” Grandmother said quietly, laughter in her tone and eyes. “Although you should learn both parts and become comfortable in both masks. After all, we never know what may come next.” 

“What’s going on?” Lee asked as he pushed aside the tent flap. “Did Zuzu get in trouble?” 

“Of course not, you little scamp. We called you to the prop tent and your first question is about whether your brother got in trouble? Do I need to ask what you’ve been up to?” Lu Shan asked, amused but stern and Zuzu grinned at the way Lee shrank in on himself, sticking his tongue out when Lee glanced at him. 

The green-eyed boy recovered well though, straightening up and smiling gamely. “Aww, Dad, it’s not like that…” he stated before Lu Shan let out a bark of laughter. 

“Oh Ancestors, now I know you’ve been up to something. No, not now, I’ll find out when whatever it is blows up in my face,” the prop master stated pragmatically, before continuing on over Grandmother’s quiet chuckle. “For now, the reason you were called here is that we’re assigning parts for the next play.” 

“We’ll be performing it on the way to Omashu, through Taka Pass since it's not safe to go south,” Grandmother stated. “Love Among the Dragons. It’s an older play, I haven’t heard of any Earth Kingdom troupes doing it in the last few decades at the least.” 

“It's a Fire Nation story though,” Zuzu blurted out before blushing as Grandmother looked at him with that patient expression. 

“Yes, and?” she asked, clearly unimpressed. “Young man, it used to be that the stories and plays of each nation were freely played and told around the world. When I was a girl, my first part was in the water tribe play Sea Wolf Steals the Stars.” Lee came to the rescue, bouncing in place as his excitement caught up to him.

“We get parts in the play? Do we get to act? On the stage and everything?” Lee’s excitement made even Zuzu grin, despite the anxiety starting to well up in his stomach. 

Zuzu finally got the wig straightened out and settled on the ferocious blue mask, even as Lu Shan presented the more mirthful mask to Lee. 

“It’s not a speaking part, but yes. On the stage and everything, though you’ll also be doing sideshows to drum up interest in the play,” the prop master explained. 

“Not a… am I going to be fighting Zuzu on stage and off?” Zuzu glanced over and almost burst out laughing at the look of sheer mischief on his brother’s face. 

“Smart as a whip, that’s my boy. Now, it’s a little unorthodox, but since both of you already spar on a regular basis, we’re doing costume fitting first. Come over here so I can get measurements.”

* * *

The following weeks were some of the most fun Zuzu had ever had, and even the ever-present knot of worry in his gut that everyone would discover where he came from went quiet in the evenings when he put on his mask to spar with Lee. Both boys wore their masks so they could get used to moving and sparing with the weight of the wig and the adjustment to how well they could see with the masks on. It was a lot less than Zuzu expected, but it wasn’t easy to see to the side while wearing the masks. 

The weapons didn’t matter for the rolls, but Zuzu had a special fondness for paired dao while Lee was very much a fan of his brass capped staff. 

As much as the boys enjoyed sparring in preparation for the stage, Grandmother had long ago instituted that the skills they used to entertain paying customers were the same they used to defend the caravan in event of bandit and brigand attacks. Zuzu had heard of other troupes where the actors practiced only specific routines and didn’t know how to used edged steel to fight. His opinion on not learning to fight and defend themselves for real wasn’t something he had dared repeat after the tanning Grandmother had given him the first time for his language. 

Everyone in this troupe knew at least how to defend themselves and run, which was part of why Grandmother was still willing to travel instead of finding a large town to settle in, though campfire rumor had it that that was part of why they were heading to Omashu. 

According to the rumors they were hearing, the Fire Nation was stepping up their stupid war, and Grandmother was keeping her ear to the ground to find a good place to settle that had walls and wasn’t Ba Sing Se. The rumors about that place were almost as disconcerting as the ones about the Fire Nation. 

Walking with Lee by Grandmother’s Cart, Zuzu frowned, listening closely over the quiet murmur of the caravan. He didn’t bother explaining because he didn’t know how he knew, but he broke away and raced towards Grandmother at the front of the Caravan. 

“An ambush ahead! Just around the bend, Firebenders!”, he whispered urgently terror gripping him in a way he hadn’t felt in over three years. 

Grandmother looked at him for just a moment before nodding and calling out the alert. Women bought beasts and wagons to a halt as the men pulled out their weapons. The Earthbenders in the group, all passed over by the Army for being too old or frail, or too weak, moved to where they could do the most good with what strengths they had, including Grandmother, who took a place at the front of the caravan with stubborn determination. 

The bandits didn’t give them a chance to completely prepare, fire flying from the treelines even as grizzled angry looking men emerged from the cover of the forest. 

It was chaos, angry earth and desperate fire flying to and from, men and women screaming and the little ones crying. It was hearing the younglings crying and screaming that chilled Zuzu to the core, and even as his Dao flew a buried part of him dispassionately noted that only about half the bandits were Fire Nation, honorless dogs, and most likely deserters. 

Only two of those were actually fire benders, but Zuzu flinched every time flames burned high. One of the bastards noticed, dodging around a small group of fighting to where Zuzu stood between the fighters and a huddle of younger little ones, dao raised in a defensive stance. 

“Stupid little brat,” the man growled, grizzled face a mask of fury. “How in Koh’s name did you know we were there?” 

Zuzu didn’t answer, flinching and scrambling back as fire flew past his scarred face. Startled screams behind him and the crackle of fire hitting the wooden side of one of the wagons reminded him that he was between fire and death, and people he liked. The family that had taken him in when he lost everything. 

Never mind that no one in the caravan was actually related to him, let alone to each other. They had come together as a family and welcomed him, accepting him as one of their own despite nearly every adult knowing where he had come from, and even those who had been hurt or lost loved ones to the Fire Nation war were kind to him. 

They were his, and he would not let these honorless dogs hurt anyone else. 

Stealing his nerves, Zuzu stood still as the next wave of fire came. Everything was burning, and the need to stand between the flames and his people held him steady letting him reach out for the first time in years to touch the flames with his heart. 

Air and breath and body were one, like turning a key and unleashing the floodgate. Instead of water flowing free, the fire washed out of him as it never had before, even the first time he had first thrown sparks four years ago. 

Learning fire didn’t start with bending though, and the forms were considered essential for self-defense as well as fighting to defend family and home. 

Zuzu had never had a talent for the forms, not like his little sister, but his mother had drilled him until he could do these moves in his sleep since he could walk. It hadn’t been nearly long enough to forget these moves, not completely. 

His form wasn’t perfect, wasn’t even very good, but fire washed out of him as he moved, even with steel gripped tight in his fists. 

The bender he was up against still cursed and Zuzu could feel him gathering up more fire, another ball of hate flying towards Zuzu’s face. 

Fear and anger mingled with the elation of fire blossoming in his heart, his swords lashed out, his body moving and fire moving with him even as far away and distant as the world and fight had gotten. 

The fireball headed for his face curved, turning to fly back in the face of the bandit, who screamed as flames washed over him. The other firebender yelled but it was mere noise as Zuzu moved, the blades in his hands wreathed in flames as he spun to dodge an arrow. 

They had smartened up, but it was too late, and the enemy fire benders couldn’t recover their forms. The other bandits broke and ran, and with a move, Zuzu had never felt or seen before he sent the flames chasing after them. The flames nipped playfully at their heels even as Zuzu felt his body spinning and then falling.

* * *

Zuzu blinked awake, looking up at the ceiling of one of the carts, wondering why he was in a moving cart instead of walking with Lee if they were traveling. The gentle swaying movements of the cart made his throat close, but he pushed the fear away even as he pushed himself painfully to a sitting position. 

“Zuzu stay laying down, Grandmother said she would drug you with shishu darts if you try to get up,” Lee’s voice was shaky, and Zuzu looked over to see that his brother was shaking and pale with a red-stained bandage holding his arm to his torso. 

“Lee… what… what happened?” Zuzu asked, or tried to, his voice shaking and higher pitched than normal even when he finally managed to get the words out. 

“You passed out after you,” Lee’s voice cut off for a moment before he continued. “Zuzu you’re a fire bender. You chased the ambush away with their own fire and then put out all the fires that had caught on the wagons.” Lee’s voice cracked and Zuzu suddenly felt light-headed as the implications of what his brother was saying sunk in. 

“N… no… I’m not…” he managed to gasp out before curling up on himself. 

“Zuzu, oh man, it’s okay, it was just a surprise, and you have no idea how cool you looked…” Lee started but Zuzu shook his head in denial even as he felt tears welling up in his eyes. It was the end, the adults of the troupe had been willing to tolerate him even being fire nation, but as a firebender? They would never let him stay, because fire benders were bad, the worst of the Fire Nation. 

“Fire is awful and I hate it and now…” Zuzu sobbed frustration and fear and a deep wellspring of anger coming to the surface. “I hate firebenders, and now I am one? It was gone! I was happy! Why… why did it have to come back?” 

“Because young man, it never left you, just went dormant in the wake of... Whatever happened to you,” Grandmother stated, climbing into the slowly moving wagon through the back. “I’ve expected something like this since I first patched up your wounds three years ago. You babbled in your fever.” 

The last part was added in a low, almost whispering tone, and Zuzu whimpered, shaking his head in denial. Earth was direct though, and Grandmother was merciless as a healer. 

“Young man.. Zuzu, a bender who doesn’t bend lets their chi channels become stagnant. Learning to fight with fists or weapons keeps the chi channels flexible so you don’t get ill. Fighting also moves chi, though not with the vigor of bending,” her green eyes were hard and Zuzu didn’t dare look away, though her expression softened somewhat as she continued. “Zuzu, when you came to us, your chi channels were blocked the worst that I’ve ever seen. I knew that if you stayed that deeply blocked, you would have been very, very sick, nonstop, and it would have killed you well before your time. How could I let that happen to a child, especially one adopted into my own family?” 

He winced, finally looking away at the word family, but when he glanced over Lee was grinning widely. 

“That being said, it should have taken years for those blocked channels to clear properly,” Grandmother sighed, and Zuzu flinched again. “It’s not like that, I just expected more time to ease you into being comfortable enough with fire, and slow enough that you would be able to get used to the strength of it gradually.” 

“What does that mean, Honored Grandmother?” Lee asked, his voice shaking despite the grin on his face. “Does it have to do with Zuzu’s shadow?” 

“My shadow?” Zuzu blurted, confused. 

“It… it changed, drastically while you were fighting,” Lee said softly, making a common sign against spirit mischief with his good hand, a sign Zuzu had only learned a few years ago. 

“Yes,” Grandmother stated plainly, sighing and looking more tired than Zuzu had ever seen her. “Oma and Shu be merciful, yes. Little spirits seem to follow you around Zuzu, we’ve talked about that and the precautions you take to keep them in check, but this was no small spirit. I don’t know what this spirit was and that worries me. What it did was wash you chi channels clean, completely clear. You’re probably going to be affecting every fire within a hundred feet whether you mean to or not until you’re properly trained.” 

Zuzu groaned, curling up again and wrapping his arms around his aching head. 

“Why can’t they just leave me alone?” he whined, feeling emotionally drained. 

“Undoubtedly you’re something special,” Grandmother said, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes as she reached out to tilt Zuzu’s face up. “It happens more than most people realize, and those the spirits favor often end up among the nobility. At least, in the Earth Kingdom.” 

Zuzu flinched again, feeling the blood drain from his face as Grandmother mentioned nobility. He saw her eyes narrow but looked away stubbornly. 

“Wait, if fire is going to react to Zuzu...” Lee asked, and Zuzu was grateful for the change of subject when Grandmother answered. 

“Zuzu is officially banned from the campfires until he finds a fire bender teacher,” Grandmother stated in a tone that brooked no kind of argument, and Zuzu almost jumped out of his skin as someone shouted loudly. 

“A WHAT?!” the demand and incredulity in the voice didn’t register until he realized it was his own voice. 

“I… I mean… I’m sorry Honored Grandmother, but why would I need a… one of those… those…” He stuttered a stop, the effort of keeping his voice civil too much, and even he could hear that his tone made it clear what he thought of that idea by the time he cut himself off. 

“Young man, not all firebenders are so short-sighted as the bandits, and very few of them overall are actually evil. It is a sad fact of life that those usually end up in the Army to fight or as bandits, but fire itself and most of the Fire Nation don’t deserve such hatred.” Again, Grandmothers tone was immutable as the earth itself, but the anger inside of Zuzu wouldn’t let him leave off. 

“Honored Grandmother, with all due respect, I’ve spent my life around Fire Benders and I’ve never met one who wasn’t… careless at best. They are cruel, thoughtless and so convinced that they’re… ~better~ than everyone else…” Zuzu cut himself off again, taking huffing breaths to try to calm himself enough to go on. “I don’t hate the whole Fire Nation, even despite that, I know that they’re people just like anyone else in the world and that even among those bastards there are good people. I just don’t think there are nearly as many as you seem to think, most of them aren’t anything but…” 

The sharp sound of flesh cracking against flesh cut him off, catching Zuzu’s attention before the stinging pain in his cheek registered. 

“You are upset, and that is understandable. Your life has been upended yet again, and you feel as if you will lose all you have come to hold dear these last few years. That is not true. It is also no excuse to be rude and thoughtless. I’ve been around long enough to know what I am talking about. 

“When I was younger, and the war hadn’t spread so far, there was still trade between earth and Fire, still trust many places. We traded goods, and culture, and fears. Many saw this war coming, and we did what we could to preserve what is good in our own memories of each other. Did you realize Love among the Dragons is a Fire Nation story?” 

Zuzu nodded, fighting down the same and holding his temper with only frayed nerves and determination. 

“The four nations are separate, but we still need each other, we are all people who grow when we look outside of ourselves and our own nation. That is why we continue to tell the old stories and remember who we used to be, so we remember how it could be again,” Grandmother said, trying to sound amused but Zuzu could hear the strain in her voice and couldn’t bring himself to look up. He heard her sigh and didn’t struggle when she pulled him into a hug. 

“I’m sorry Zuzu. This will be hard on you, and you’ll stay in all of our hearts until we meet again. For now, rest, sleep. Gather your strength. There's still a few days before we get to the fork in the road,” Grandmother moved to pull away, but Zuzu found his arms wrapping around her to hold her close. 

“Honored Grandmother, I’m scared,” he managed to get out, past a throat tight with emotion. “What… what if I change and stop caring about people? If I come back and use fire to destroy, the way all of them do?” 

“Are you serious?” Lee blurted out, and Zuzu pulled away from Grandmother, flushing with embarrassment. He had all but forgotten his adopted brother was still there, “Zuzu, you… you monkey-sparrow brained idiot! You would never be that way! Could never be that way, and even if you did, if you somehow forgot everything of who you are, I would find you and kick your butt, bender or not!” 

The earnest expression on his adopted brother's face was enough to bring a watery smile to Zuzu’s face, and a weak laugh to his lips. “As… as if.” 

Zuzu laid back again, exhausted to a whole new level and ready to sleep the next two days away.

“Where even would I find any kind of firebending teacher?” he asked quietly, and Grandmother chuckled. 

“At the fork in the road, the west path will take you to the Fire Nation colonies, while the troupe goes east towards Omashu,” Grandmother said, smiling softly. “Both of you rest, and Lee, if you open up that wound in your shoulder again I’ll sedate you too, scamp.” 

With that Grandmother let herself out of the wagon, leaving the boys to themselves.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy that it's being re-written? angry that it's taken so long? want to kick my behind for not finishing Burning Summer or Sins of the Father yet? 
> 
> Please leave a review telling me all about it. 
> 
>  
> 
> (Underhell is probably going to get a similar treatment at some point, fair warning)


End file.
